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Why choose this program?

With a variety of majors and minors to choose from and the freedom to combine them to suit your interests, Griffith University's Bachelor of Arts gives you the power to create your own unique program to prepare for either a career in the global knowledge economy or for postgraduate study in your preferred area of research.

How to identify, process and synthesise information; to research across disciplinary boundaries; to think critically and constructively; to create and manage new knowledge and to communicate your ideas effectively are the core skills you will develop in the degree regardless of your chosen areas of study. As well, our commitment to international experience, work-integrated learning, social justice and environmental sustainability will ensure that in addition to preparation for a life of rewarding work, your experience in the program will equip you to be an informed and engaged citizen of the world.

In your final year, you will collaborate with your fellow BA students in a capstone course that will explore a real-world wicked problem with you and your peers cast as agents of change. You will also have the opportunity to complete an internship or work-based learning project or undertake study abroad, the kinds of complex undertakings that will ensure that you graduate with the maturity, experience, knowledge and skills that employers want.

You can choose from the following majors and minors;

Art History and TheoryHow does a society express itself and why? Such are the questions you will confront in art history and theory, from surveying the aesthetics of aboriginal art to relationship between the body and art to how art shapes who we are. Australian Studies
What is Australia? A place? An idea? And who counts as Australian? With this major you will explore the many facets of Australian culture, history, politics and government.Communication and JournalismThis major straddles two distinct fields, both of which focus on how to summarise an issue, frame a question and communicate a perspective. Learn how to communicate strategically to frame the terms of debate or to explain the what, why and when of an event, a strategy or an issue.Creative Writing
People think math or chemistry are hard but try writing from your heart in a way that engages others. We have great authors on staff who enjoy showing students how to express themselves and welcoming them into a great community of student writers and poets. Criminal Justice
Why do people commit crimes? Is it because an individual is flawed or because of social pressures and circumstance? How does a society mete out justice? Digital Media Studies (Minor only)
If you are interested in journalism or communication but do not want to commit to the major, then this minor will get you started in digital media theory and production.Drama
When people think drama they think of costumes, klieg lights and chorus lines. In this major you will learn how to stage plays and how to act but the focus will be on how drama can mobilise social action, from helping veterans cope with post-traumatic stress to building communities through performance. Environmental Humanities (Minor only)
When we think of the environment we tend to think of science, but a lot can be gained from exploring environmental issues through literature, indigenous knowledge, history and social science, all of which contribute to this minor.Gender StudiesWhen you understand how gendered forms of power shape our society you will be equipped to interrogate many of the assumptions on which our society relies for its basic structure. History
A great author once insisted that the past is always present. When you study history you confront the challenge of disentangling present-day circumstances from past events and interpreting their meaning for yourself and for your community.Indigenous Studies
Explore probably the most pressing questions that confront Australia and come to grips with the fact that without an understanding of this land's ancient origins, knowledge and culture it will be impossible to ever reconcile the cost that the ongoing existence of Australia has exacted with the imperative for social justice.Islam-West Relations
In the long history of Islam-West relations there have been periods of fruitful exchange and times of tension and strife. Why has the encounter ebbed and flowed over the centuries and what lessons does the past afford our multicultural present?Journalism
Who knows what is true anymore? Journalists do. Interrogate the powers that be, share stories with the community you serve and learn how to produce and distribute your take on the world. Language in Society
Nothing humans have created could exist without language. Explore the most fundamental way we create knowledge and value that nonetheless differs from culture to culture. Languages
When you learn a language you acquire another way to understand yourself and the world. It is a life-changing experience that too many people are afraid to dare. Be brave, study a language and see just how widely it can open your life.Literary Studies
Great literature can you transport you to different times and place, introduce you to different people and pose the essential questions we all have to answer. When you read great literature you encounter powerful voices and can learn how to find your voice - which matters because without a voice you will never be heard.Medical Humanities (Minor only)
In the quest to provide better health care, physicians have increasingly turned to the humanities for lessons and ideas drawn from literature, history and the arts. The minor also features the "Biography Project" that pairs students with long-term care residents to collaborate on the writing of their biography.Politics and International Studies
Uncover the power structures, political compromises and international self-interests that frame our modern lives.Popular CultureSo much of our lives are defined by our immersion in popular culture that studying this major will open your capacity to interrogate social values and connect media to values to beliefs in ways that will expose the tensions between being an individual and belonging to a society. PsychologyInterested in the relationship between mind and personality? How psyches interact socially and their problems might be ameliorated? Then try psychology as a gateway into postgraduate degrees in psychological counselling and therapies.Strategic Communication and Public Relations
How an issue is communicated sets the terms in which it will be discussed. The communications and public relations field is booming and in this major you will develop the key competencies the profession requires.Screen Studies
What we watch matters. Visual media occupy an important place in popular culture and straddle the competing interests of commerce and art.Security Studies
Are we safe? What imperils our water or food supply or our bodily security? And to what degree does fear or anxiety define our modern lives?Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. What could be more important? What makes us tick? How does power define our lives? What makes you who you are? Do we have one identity or shift among many? Social Justice
Look at the social structures and cultural values that contribute to social inequality, injustice and poverty and try to find new ways to foster multiculturalism, social inclusion and equality. How can you make a better world?

Attendance information

The Bachelor of Arts may be undertaken full-time or part-time at either the Nathan or Gold Coast campus. A full-time student will generally attend 12 hours of scheduled classes per week throughout the trimester. Classes are generally scheduled during the day but some are offered during the evening between Monday and Friday.

Student Income Support

To be classed as a full-time student, you are required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points each standard study period. The minimum credit points for full-time enrolment in this program is 30 credit points.

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 are deemed standard study periods. As Trimester 3 is a non-standard study period, continuing students moving from one year to the next will not be required to study during this trimester to be eligible for student income support.

Domestic students who commence in Trimester 3 may be eligible for student income support from the onset of study provided they are enrolled full-time in this study period.

My career opportunities

As a graduate of our Bachelor of Arts, you will have flexible, broad-based skills in writing, analysis and synthesis of information, research and policymaking. With these transferable skills, you will be able to shift easily from one occupation or industry to another.

Creative Writing
You will be equipped for an exciting career as a creative and professional writer prepared for work in advertising, communications, marketing, editing or publishing.

Criminal Justice
You will be equipped for work in advocacy, law enforcement, policymaking, or as a liaison officer.

Drama
You will be equipped for a career in community arts and cultural development, applied theatre, arts and health sector, and drama education as well as offering transferable skills in relation to your other major study.

History
You will be equipped for a career as a social historian, museum curator, record keeper, project manager, or researcher.

Indigenous Studies
You will be equipped for work in advocacy, advising, community liaison, policymaking, or research.

Islam-West Relations
You will be equipped for work as an adviser or analyst, or for a role in community liaison, consultancy, policymaking, or research.

Journalism
You will be trained for work in media industries with capabilities in video and radio production, news and current affairs reporting and media campaigns.

Language in Society
You will be prepared for a career in English/ESL teaching, publishing, journalism, sales and marketing, media, advertising and public relations, and organisational communication.

Languages
You will be prepared for a career in education and teaching, translation and interpreting, tourism and hospitality, publishing and journalism, sales and marketing, advertising and public relations, international business, law, commerce, and the arts.

Literary Studies
You will be prepared for a career in communications, marketing, editing or publishing.

Politics and International Studies
You will be equipped to work as an analyst, consultant, policymaker, or in diplomacy or research.

Public Relations
You will be prepared for a career in communications, media liaison or public relations.

Screen Studies
You will gain widely applicable skills in analysis and communication with expert knowledge to complement screen industries training and capabilities to work as a critic, reviewer, or researcher.

Security Studies
You will be equipped for work as a policy adviser or analyst, agency administrator, or community liaison leader, with abilities to become a consultant, advocate or academic.

Sociology
You will gain capabilities to work in policy planning, advocacy, social research, community or urban development and human services.

Pathways to further study

Students who graduate with an appropriate GPA may undertake an additional year of study in the Honours program which may qualify the student for further postgraduate studies. Graduates may also be eligible to apply for entry to a graduate teacher preparation degree which may lead to further career opportunities in education and teaching.

Commonwealth supported students

The fee is indicative of an annual full-time load (80 credit points) in a program categorized to one of the Australian Government's three broad discipline areas (student contribution bands). A student's actual annual fee may vary in accordance with his or her choice of majors and electives. The Australian Government sets student contribution amounts on an annual basis.

Fee-paying undergraduate (domestic) students

These fees are only applicable to domestic students who are not Commonwealth supported including:

Full-fee paying domestic students who commenced their program prior to 2009.

International students who have been approved to pay domestic tuition fees after obtaining Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency or a permanent humanitarian visa and who have not obtained a Commonwealth supported place.

Tuition fees

A fee-paying undergraduate student pays tuition fees.

Students are liable for tuition fees for the courses they are enrolled in as at the census date.

The tuition fee is charged according to the approved program fee for the trimester in which the student is enrolled.

Program fees for the Bachelor of Arts (1016)

Year of study

Fee category/Band

Fee per CP

Tuition fee 80cp

2020

Fee Band 28.5

$356.25

$28,500.00

2019

Fee Band 27.5

$343.75

$27,500.00

FEE-HELP

Eligible undergraduate fee-paying students may defer their tuition fees by taking out a FEE-HELP loan which is part of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). Payment of the loan is via the taxation system when income reaches a specified level.